AIBU to hate An Inspector Calls?

[Evasmithsghost]

English teacher so have to teach this dirge every year.

I hate the superior, haughty, lecturing tone taken throughout.

Hate Gerald and the way he’s partially let off the hook.

Hate the way Mrs Birling is given such harsh treatment by the playwright when in fact she is quite right and Eva did lie.

Really can’t stand this play!

@Evasmithsghost oh. I know that. I got an A* for that bloody play. It was just going round in my head last month and it annoyed me in its pedantry.

Sorry - didn’t intend to be condescending. Loads of people are at that part!

I never studied it, but saw a very ‘straight’, Agatha Christie-esque version of it with my parents in the early 90s as a young teen and loved it. Then later on my 6th form went on a trip to see that NT Stephen Daldry version and I hated it so much! Talk about clobbering you with the themes. It’s like it was made for study groups.

I find it odd that it’s still being studied as a modern text. Surely they could update the curriculum a bit.

@WheelieBinPrincess

Blimey, do they rotate GCSE texts? I did AIC and Macbeth in about 2000 or so. And a load of bloody Carol Ann Duffy poems.

I like Macbeth except for that ‘no man of woman born can harm Macbeth’ bit.

I had a c-section last month and I definitely still feel like I’m a woman who gave birth thank you very much

Did them in 1989, plus the War Poets (which was far more interesting) and Of Mice and Men, which has only just been taken out.

So no, not really.

I loved it as a teenager. Found it really powerful.

Totally U!
It's a brilliant play and shines a light on how how behaviour impacts on others, in ways we might not always be aware. It is of it's time, but the message is still pertinent.
But many of Priestly' plays are thought provoking, and as much as I like Inspector Calls, it's not his best (imho).
However I think if I was having to teach it every year, I'd get fed up, but I would with any book I had to dissect year on year so from that view point you are not being U!

Full of snug self righteousness. Couldn't stand it.

@Evasmithsghost no offfence taken.

Out of interest, do you have a text that you would really enjoy teaching for GCSE?

I also did English literature A-level and hated Dr Faustus with an absolute passion.

:"smug'

Agree it’s clunky and obvious.

Somehow I can see it as an extremely irritating person on social media.

In general do you think Priestley is overrated?
For me Good Companions is OK but not special.

I like all the Shakespeare texts. Not a huge fan of Christmas carol, which we also have to do.

The modern texts aren’t enormously inspired, to be honest. I like Curious Incident.

I’m an English teacher too and I lose track of how many times I’ve taught this text!

I actually look forward to teaching it though. The kids absolutely love it. They never see the twist coming and they’re always outraged by the behaviour of the family. It leads to some brilliant discussions and I just find teaching it really good fun.

It’s not my favourite play though by any means. I think Eric is a foul character and yes, the presentation of the women’s actions is far worse (though Sheila is the only decent character, really). That makes for good discussions too.

It’s one of those texts that works well for both the top and bottom end. Everyone can access it and everyone can come up with challenging interpretations.

Do you study it every year without fail? Anything that is a lecture in disguise can get tedious.

I saw on Reddit the other day a meme saying “Romeo and Juliet is not a love story it’s a seven day relationship between a 13yo and 17yo that leaves 6 people dead”. Well, put like that…

Why do you keep teaching it?! Plenty of other good texts on the spec.

@IAmSantaOhYesIAm

I loved it at at school and again when ds1 did it for GCSEs. Now it’s ds2’s turn!! I just hope that your obvious hate for it doesn’t seep out into your teaching.

Nice catty swipe there.

It's not as bad as A View From the Bridge, aka A Sympathetic Portrayal of an Abusive, Homophobic, Controlling Arsehole Who Blames Everyone Else Then Gets Exactly What He Deserves And I Wish I'd Done It.

@AttaGirrrrl

Why do you keep teaching it?! Plenty of other good texts on the spec.

Even when I did the HOD role, I was restricted largely to the texts in the cupboard. These days I am a lowly teacher and get no say at all

I remember enjoying it at school, can’t for the life of me remember the details now. I do, however, remember that we all called it ‘An Inspector’s Balls’. Good times!

This is where my MN name comes from 😂 I don’t mind it so much. Texts are products of context, so although Priestley might heap blame at the feet of the women and let Eric and Gerald’s repugnant behaviour off, students realise that, as modern readers, they disagree.

Romeo’s just as bloody bad - he never takes any responsibility. It’s always fate and never his own poor decisions 🙄

My modern text when I was doing my O levels was Barchester Towers so count yourself lucky. Actually I quite enjoyed it as at least it had it's funny moments.

I've only seen the recent TV version with Remus Lupin as the mysterious inspector, and I thought that was really great.

I still can't quite figure the ending out! So ambiguous.

WheelieBinPrincess Not to be ghoulish - I’ve had a CS too - but I’ve always assumed that women in Shakespeare’s time invariably died after a Caesarian, so people’s view of them must have been rather different.

@ChannelLightVessel yes this is true- it must have been astonishingly rare back in the day to meet someone born of a c-section, as I doubt it had a good success rate for infants either/probably wasn’t often carried out.

I had a difficult breach baby and c-sec was thr only option- but I kept thinking back to something I saw in a museum for getting out breach or stuck babies in medieval times- it was a gigantic iron hook 😬